Cocaine Cover-up
WHO|May 4, 2020
THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF HOW TWO WOMEN RUINED MORE THAN 60,000 DRUG CONVICTIONS IN THE STATES … AND DESTROYED THEIR OWN LIVES IN THE PROCESS
Cocaine Cover-up

For 10 years, Sonja Farak worked as a technician at a drug testing lab in Amherst, Massachusetts, processing up to 10 different samples of narcotics every day. The fates of thousands of defendants were based entirely on her analysis of crack cocaine, crystal meth, ketamine, marijuana and MDMA. Sometimes she had to appear in court herself to testify that all the correct procedures had been followed. But what no-one knew was that Farak had become an addict herself, and was regularly taking the very Class A drugs she was being sent by prosecutors.

As her dependency grew, most of her work was done while she was high on powerful illegal substances, and when her habit was finally uncovered, every case she’d worked on was suddenly in doubt. How many innocent people were serving prison sentences based on false lab results? And how many drug dealers had walked free because she had botched her work?

This story is from the May 4, 2020 edition of WHO.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the May 4, 2020 edition of WHO.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM WHOView All